Carmichael Wins in St. Louis

| April 7, 2002

Team Honda’s Ricky Carmichael posted his sixth win in a row after leading from start to finish at the AMA/EA Sports Supercross Series round in St. Louis, Missouri. After grabbing the Powerade Holeshot Award, Carmichael put the hammer down and pulled away from a battling Jeremy McGrath and Ernesto Fonseca.

“It makes life easier when you get a holeshot,” Carmichael said. “I want to win these last four races and keep the ball rolling. I’m not goint to let up, but I am prepared to finish this in Las Vegas.”

David Vuillemin, who started in eighth, quickly worked forward and eventually passed both McGrath and Fonseca en route to a second-place finish. Fonseca and McGrath finished third and fourth, respectively.

In the 125cc class it was Boost Mobile/Yamaha/Troy Racing’s Chad Reed (pictured) who took the measure of the main event for the sixth time in a row. Reed’s runaway win in front of a crash-filled field also earned the soft-spoken Australian his first ever championship, as he clinched the 125cc East title with one race remaining.

“I have been waiting for this my whole life,” Reed said. “The American fans have been so great to me this year, and I want to thank them for that. I have always dreamed of this.”

In his second ever Supercross race, Chevy Trucks/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Eric Sorby finished second, while Boost Mobile/Yamaha/Troy Racing’s Greg Schnell finished third. Moto XXX/DGY’s Larry Ward and Kelly Smith, KTM’s Grant Langston and Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Mike Brown were all involved in crashes that took them out of the race.